A sarcastic veterinary blog dedicated to all of the money grubbing vets out there who are fed up with the insanity of the American public.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Breath of Life of a Puppy

While I realize that sometimes we *do* get hung up on being negative, I wanted to post my own story about my recent acquisition of a new puppy. :)

A little history: I lost the doggy love of my life last July. July 26th to be exact. I had him with me for 15 years and saw him through his hyperactive younger years, his graceful middle-aged years, his old age. We went through vet school together, divorce together, moved across the country a couple of times together, changed jobs and changed lives together. He was my buddy and the day I lost him was honestly one of the worst days of my life. I saw him through cuts and bruises, bad teeth, glaucoma then blindness, deafness and finally, doggy alzheimers that was so bad I couldn't stand to see him live like that any more. So I made the gut wrenching decision to let him go when I realized I was holding onto him more for me than for him.

It was just like it is for my clients on a daily basis. I help them through the same decisions and I try to give them comfort in knowing they aren't alone, that even Ihad to make this decision about the absolutely doggy love of my life also.

So it took me about 6 months before I could even think about even looking for another dog. I knew I'd adopt one (cause I don't do the whole paying-for-a-dog thing other than adoption fees) but didn't know who or when.

I started looking through the websites and finally found, after looking at about 1000 pictures, a little face looking back at me that immediately stole my heart. I had to believe that there was a reason behind it, so even though I wasn't sure if I was ready or not, I contacted the rescue.

Of course they sent me all sorts of pictures of him and each one was cuter than the last. I decided to try to foster him for a few weeks to see how he'd work out.

Yeah. Right.

The rescue delivered him to me and it took about 1 second for me to look at his little face to know he was mine. There would be no fostering. He was home. And now I'm loving waking up in the morning to a little wild child who gets into trouble, climbs on things and brings me my dirty socks and hides his milk bones under my husband's pillow. And when he jumps up and licks my face I cannot help but to fall even more in love with him.

I'm writing this one to let people know that while some out there think we are heartless, it couldn't be farther from the truth. We are loving, caring, generous and extremely humble and love our animals just as much as our clients.

4 comments:

It took us about a year after the death of our beloved dog. We had found her has a stray and was our first "baby". She passed away 16 yrs later of CHF. We adopted a 4 yr old beagle mix a year later from the local animal services (a high kill shelter) and he is just a love. Not the brightest bulb, but the absolute best kid friendly dog (ages 3-13) could ever ask for. He also loves cats, chickens and other dogs which is a huge bonus! Thanks for the blog, and glad I found it. I have enjoyed reading it! Congrats on the new pup as well <3

I am living vicariously through everyone getting new puppies. Our dog is about 10 years old and has some pretty severe orthopedic issues from being hit by a car right before I got her. In spite of all of the joint supplements and pain meds, she still has so much trouble going up and down stairs. We have been kicking around selling our house to find one that is a single story. We cannot afford another dog at this point, though I would like to get one while she is still around to help train it.

I lost the doggy love of my life on July 26 two years ago. He was with me through high school, college, vet school, marriage and two moves. My first obedience dog, agility dog and therapy dog. My best friend. Glad you found a special new puppy.

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